Suction cleaner runner and bracket assembly



Sept. 30, 1952 A. P. CAWL 7 2,612,380

SUCTION CLEANER RUNNER AND BRACKET ASSEMBLY Filed June 4, 1949 Inventor:

His Attorney.

"Allen F.- cawl,

Patented Sept. 30, 1952 SUCTION CLEANER RUNNER AND BRACKET I ASSEMBLY All en P. Cawl, Painesville, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York . Application June 4, 1949, Serial No. 97,289

4 Claims.

This invention relates to suction cleaners of the tank type, and more particularly to a runner and bracket assembly for slidably supporting the tank of the cleaner on a surface.

Tank type suction cleaners, to which this invention relates, conventionally include a motor or other suction-creating means and a suitable dust separator within a tank. This tank is connected through a flexible hose to an appropriate cleaning nozzle. For convenience in operation,

it is desirable for the operator to be able to move the tank from one position to another by merely pulling on the flexible hose. Thus, a convenient supporting structure is required for the tank which will permit it to be readily moved over a surface. I

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention tovprovide a runner assembly which will support the tank itself in a stable position but of contact with the surface upon which the cleaner is to rest, and which will permit the tank to be readily moved.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a runner assembly which is economical to manufacture and assemble and readily attachable to a tank of a suction cleaner.

It is also an object of my invention to construct a tank supporting runner a'ndbracket assembly presenting smooth exposed surfaces.

In accomplishment of the foregoing objective, a feature of my invention consists in slidably supporting a cleaner tank on a pair of runners having a substantially 'C-shaped' 'cross section with the open face of each runner facing inwardly so that the exposed or outer surfaces are smooth. Another feature of my invention consists in the use of improved-bracket members attachable to the under surface of the'tank and which have end portions quickly connected to the runners by relative rotation of approximately 90 degrees between bracket and runner.

The features. of my invention which I believe to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both as to its organization and use, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a tank type suction cleaner embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the device shown by Fig. 1 with one of the runners shown in cross section; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved runner and bracket assembly; and Fig. 4 illustrates a' portion of the runner with part of its surface cut away to illustrate the method of attaching a bracket end to a runner. Referring to the drawing, in Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a tank. I of a suction cleaner. This tank serve as an enclosure and mounting means for a motor or other suction-creating device and a dust separator toaccumulate the dust anddirt picked up in the. cleaning operation. Tank lhas a suction opening into which a flexible hose 2 is inserted, hose 2 leading to a cleaning tool (not shown). A handle 3 is provided onthe top of tank I so that the cleaner may bereadilymoved from place to place, such as between. rooms. However, during normal cleaning operations with.- in a given area, it is inconvenient. to pick up tank I by means of handle 3 for short movements of the cleaner. For this reason, I-find it desirable to mount tank I on runners which are slidable over a surface. This permits the user of this appliance tovmove the tank from placeto place by merely pulling on suction hose 2.

As clearly shown by Fig. 2, tank I is supported above a surface on a pair of runners 4 and .5.

These runners present a substantially flat outer surface and the edges are rolled inwardly so that a completely formedrunner member has a substantially C-shaped cross section. Thus, the exposed runner edges present a smooth surface which will not catch or drag as the tank is moved about from place to place. As shown by Fig. 3, the end portions of each runner are sloped upwardly from the bottom edge, as at 6 and i, so that the tank may be moved readily in either direction and any irregularity or unevenness on the surface upon which the device is restingwi11 not interfere with movement.

Runners 4 and 5 are attached to tank I by means of supporting brackets 8 and 9. The intermediate portion of each bracket is shaped to conform substantially with the-under surface" of tank '1. Each bracket is also provided with a pair of apertures l0 and H through which fastenin devices [2 and I3 extend for attaching the bracket members to the tank. Obviously, any suitable fastening may be used between the brackets and the tank.

r The end portions of each bracket are preformed so that the bracket may be attached to the-runners by a simple rotational movement of each bracket with respect to the runners. As shown by Fig. 3, each end of the flat metal strip forming a bracket is bent downwardly to form a foot l5 so that the tank will be supported in spaced relation with respect to the surface upon whichthe device rests. However, a part of the'strip near each end is out to permit an ear I4 to extend upwardly. The upper extremity of upstanding ear II and the lower extremity of foot I5 are so dimensioned as to be substantially equal to the inside dimension of a runner. However, the lateral width of the strip forming each bracket is slightly less than the distance between the rolledover edgesof a runner. This construction permits the end portion of the bracket formed by ear I4 and. foot I5 to be inserted into the open face of the C-shaped runner by rotating the bracket member approximately 90 degrees from the position shown in Fig. 3. Then by rotation back to its initial position, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 4, the outer extremities of ear I4 and foot I5 on the end of each bracket member are engaged within the rolled-over edges of the runner with a tight fit.

To facilitate the rotation to bring the end of the bracket into engagement inside of the C-shaped runner, a corner I8 of foot I5 is rounded; and likewise a corner I? of ear I4 is rounded. Then to maintain the bracket in its final assembled relation in the runner, a notch I8 is cut from each of the foot portions I5. 'By use of a prick punch the runner may be dimpled into this notch to prevent both rotational movement of the bracket with respect to the runner and also longitudinal displacement.

V The manufacture and assembly of my improved runner and bracket assembly is greatly facilitated. The runners and the brackets for this construction may be prefabricated andpreformed to their final shape by mass production methods. At the time of assembly,.the brackets are positioned so that the runners may be placed over the bracket end portions. Then, while they runners are held stationary, the brackets are rotated approximately 90 degrees into locking and engaging relation with the runners. This entire operation can be readily adapted to automatic or semiautomatic performance by machine because of the simplicity of the components. By the dimpling b of each runner'at each of the notches I8, the

runners and brackets may be more rigidly connected together. Finally, the runner and bracket assembly is attached to tank I by means such as y the fastening devices 'I 2 and I 3.

From the foregoing, it-is seen that I have provided a mounting and supporting structure for the tank of a suction cleaner permitting it to be slidably moved over a surface. My runner and bracket assembly results in increased stability for the tank, while at the same time presenting a smooth outer surface. This is especially true when the runner members are made from a chromium plated sheet metal. v This assembly also results in greater economy of manufacture and assembly since the component parts may be prefabricated in their final form by mass production methods, while permitting the bracket members to be readily attached to the runners and then the entire assembly to be secured to the tank of the cleaner.

While the present invention has been described by reference to a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the invention. I, therefore, aim-in the appended claims to cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true 7 spirit and scope of the foregoing disclosure.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for slidably supporting the tank of a suction cleaner or the like on a surface, comprising a pair of longitudinally extending runners, each runner having an outer exposed fac and inwardly rolled top and bottom edges forming a substantially C-shaped transverse cross-section of each runner, with the open sides of the Cs facing each other when said runners are in place, a pair of bracket members attached to the tank and extending transversely of said tank between said runners, each of said bracket members comprising an intermediat portion shaped to conform to the underside surface of the tank and adapted to be secured thereto when in assembled position, normally downwardly turned ends on each bracket with an upstanding ear on each said end, the distance as measured from the extremity of the downwardly turned end to the tip of the upstanding ear being substantially equal to the inside maximum dimension within th rolled portions of said runner, said bracket ends and ears being first inserted within the open sides of said runners at a -degree rotation from normal assembled position about the bracket longitudinal axis, and said brackets being secured to said runners entirely by engagement of said end portions and said ears within said C-shaped section upon rotation of said brackets back to normal assembled position with respect to the inner open sides of said runners.

2. In a suction cleaner or the like having a tank, ,a runner assembly for slidably supporting the tank on a surface comprising a pair of longitudinally extending runner members each havin an exposed outer closed face and an open inner face and rolled top and bottom edges to form a substantially C-shaped runner cross section, a

pluralityof transversely extending bracket members adapted tobe attached to the underside surface of the tank, each bracket member having end portions comprising a downwardly bent portion and an upwardly extending ear, the distance as measured from the tip of the downwardly extending end portion to the upper edge of the car being substantially equal to the, inside maximum dimension within the rolled portions of said runner, each bracket end being inserted into the open face of a runner and the bracket member being rotatable substantially 90 degrees with respect to said runner to permit said end and ear to engage the inside surfaces of the rolled edges of a runner, whereby the attachment of said bracket members to said tank will hold said bracket members in engagement with said runners.

3. In a suction cleaner or the like of the type having a tank, means for slidably supporting the tank ona surface, said means comprising a pair of longitudinally extending runners, each runner having an exposed outer face and an open inner face with rolled top and bottom edges forming a runner substantially C-shaped in cross section, and bracket members transversely attached to said tank with end portions engaged with said runners, each of said bracket members comprising a strip having less width than the distance between the rolled top and bottom edges on the open face of said runners, said strip having an intermediate portion attached to the underside of said tank, normally downwardly turned end portions on said strip each having a normally up wardly extending ear, the distance as measured from the lower extremity of the strip to the upper edge of the ear being substantially equal to the inside maximum dimension within the rolled portions of said runner, whereby the runners are at- 5 v tached to the brackets solely by the engagement of the downwardly turned end portion and upwardly extending ear with the inside rolled portions of said runners.

4'. A runner assembly for the tank of a suction cleaner or the like comprising a pair of longitudinally extending runners for slidably supporting the tank on a surface, each runner having a substantially c-shaped transverse cross section with the open face of each runner facing the other when in assembled position with relation to the tank, a pair of brackets adapted to be secured transversely to said tank and extendin between said runners, the end of each bracket comprising upwardly and downwardly extending portions, the distance from the extremities of these portions being substantially equal to the inside maximum dimension within the rolled portions of a runner, the end of each bracket bein first engaged with said runner and secured thereto entirely by engagement of said bracket end with said runner by rotation of said bracket in a given direction with respect to the runner, the securing of said brackets to the tank fixing said brackets with respect to the runners.

ALLEN P. CAWL.

REFERENCES orrEn .The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 978,515 Turner Dec. 13, 1910 1,792,007 Engberg et al Feb 10, 1931 2,016,187 Vincent Oct. 1, 1935 2,255,858 Place Sept. 16, 1941 2,318,840 Del Camp May 11, 1943 

